Daughter Of The Moon

Chapter 24

Luna

"So here we are. The British Museum." I say as we come to a halt before a huge set of steps.

Zack cocks his head to one side as he examines it. "It kind of looks like the Parthenon." He speculates, and though I've never seen the Parthenon, the long, slope-roofed building looks just like something out of the Greek Mythology book my dad used to read to me.

"You'd never believe how much the British stole from the Greeks." Kai says, beginning to ascend the steps. As ever, he is slouched over to avoid sunlight as much as possible, his dark hair and black jacket making him look as out of place as the couple of crows hopping about on the honey-coloured stone.

I feel sorry for him for a moment, because as much as I know Kai loves the outdoors, I also know that a land-locked city in blazing summer sunlight really isn't the place he wants to be. Looking at Zack keeps me from feeling guilty, because he is totally in his element. His bright blond hair shines like a miniature sun as he turns his face up to the light, eyes closed serenely so that his eyelashes, a darker shade of blond than his hair, cast shadows over his cheekbones.

I only realise that I've been staring when Kai yells that we've got to get a move on, and I start up the steps a few paces ahead of Zack so that he can't possibly see the blush creeping up my cheeks.

I've always been shy of the subject of love, and I still am. When I first started noticing that the two boys' dislike for each other had something to do with me, I tried so hard to deny it. The thought of romantic love at the age of fifteen... it just wasn't something I had ever thought would be a problem, because you just simply can't love before you become an adult, or so I've always been told. But this is a different world, and if I can have a goddess for a mother, a centaur for a teacher, and start glowing by the light of the moon, then thinking about love at fifteen isn't absolutely crazy.

It's not like I'm in love, or anything. I think hastily, hunching over and shoving my hands in my pockets in a defensive gesture even though I am technically giving out a standoffish message to myself. But still, with the thought, a face drifts, unbidden, into my thoughts.

I stop in my tracks, the toes of my boots scuffing as I stop climbing up the steps.

The face in my mind... tanned skin, dark hair, striking sea-green eyes. Kai Murphy.

An entirely stupid thought, of course, considering that I am one hundred percent sure that he doesn't like me. I chide myself, banishing the image from my mind. But then I remember that time during capture the flag when he called me beautiful. Okay. Maybe ninety five percent.

Fortunately, an end to the steps comes before I can delve too deep into those strange thoughts, and I raise my gaze from my feet to the two boys waiting for me at the door.

"Have you been thinking, Luna?" Kai asks, a glint of amusement in his eyes. "I have warned you against such things."

In response to his teasing, I hit him on the arm and walk through the doors on my own. The museum is marble-floored and impressive, but my mind is under such tight control right now, I force my eyes not to stray towards the fascinating historical artifacts and focus only on a rack of maps a few metres away. Once I'm there, I select one and spread it out on the wall.

"Are we looking for the 'Ancient Greece' section?" I ask the boys, who are looking over my shoulder at the map.

"That's probably our best bet." Says Zack, tracing a path from our current location to the floor of Ancient Greek artifacts with a fingertip.

"So what do we do when we get there? Just ask one of the museum attendants?"

"Yeah, because mortals just love it when you say you're on a demigod quest and require shelter and supplies." Kai says, sarcasm in his tone.